INTERCEPTOR TARGET MISSILE TELEMETRY

Abstract

A target missile is a unique piece of test hardware. This test tool must be highly reliable, low cost and simple and must perform any task that the developing interceptor missile planners require. The target missile must have ample power and guidance resources to put the target in a specified place in the sky at a desired time. The telemetry and measurement system for the target missile must have the same requirements as its interceptor missile but must be flexible enough to accept new requirements as they are applied to the target and its interceptor. The United States Army has tasked Coleman Aerospace to design and build this type of target missile. This paper describes and analyzes the telemetry and instrumentation system that a Hera target missile carries. This system has been flying for the past two years, has completed seven out of seven successful test flights and has accomplished all test objectives to date. The telemetry and instrumentation system is an integral part of the missile self-test system. All preflight checks and flight simulations are made with the on-board three-link telemetry system through a radio frequency (RF) link directly through the missile antenna system to a ground station antenna. If an RF transmission path is not available due to test range restrictions, a fiber-optic cable links the pulse code modulator (PCM) encoder to the receiving ground stations which include the bitsync, decommutator and recorders. With this capability, alternative testing is not limited by RF test range availability. The ground stations include two mobile stations and a factory station for all testing including preflight testing of the missile system prior to flight test launches. These three ground stations are built in a single configuration with additional equipment in the mobile units for use at remote locations. The design, fabrication, testing and utilization of these ground stations are reviewed. The telemetry system is a modification of the classical PCM system and will operate with its interceptor missile at least into the first decade from the year 2000.